Consultation

In our consultation, we will discuss your personal history to identify current behaviors which may be disrupting your progression toward well-being. We will look at your relationship to food, nutrition, and your body. We will explore who you are today, then make an active plan that outlines foreseeable and attainable goals for your immediate future.

It's important the fit feels right for both of us, as this is a collaborative effort. If, for some reason, your needs and my abilities don't line up, I can provide referrals to other mental health resources. (The consultation will be free, if this is the case).

Active Plan

The active plan is a creative statement you will design that details the areas of physical, emotional, or spiritual growth you'd like to focus on in your life. The active plan lists specific, personal goals and intentions with a clear direction for realizing them.

As part of the active plan, the following activities are available, depending on your particular needs and preferences:

Walk and talk

On an uncrowded beach, a canyon trail, or just outdoors in the sun, the Walk and Talk takes into account your current level of fitness and is designed to help you connect with nature and discuss your current life happenings in a comfortable, healing environment.

At the end of every walk, we will observe a 15-minute period of guided silence, wherein we pay mindful attention to the details of our breath, our surroundings, and the rhythmic cadence of our movements.

Art Making

Art making uses the creative process, imagery, and metaphor rather to explore, interpret, and heal. The language of the unconscious mind is image-based, and creativity taps directly into that language. By visually rendering a problem or a feeling, we both have greater access to understanding it.

The creation of artwork is also a powerful exercise in mindfulness. When we focus on subtle things, like the feeling of the clay or the movement of the paint, we promote the ability to slow down our minds and fully absorb the subtle details in what we are doing.

Surfing

Like life, surfing demands the ability to be present in the moment, in constantly shifting and sometimes turbulent waters. Like life, nothing about the ocean is permanent. Everything changes every second of every day. Our emotions, our thoughts, our concerns for the future function much the same way.

Through direct immersion in a fluid, dynamic natural environment, we address some basic fears about change, control, and letting go.

Meditation

The activity that ties all our other activities together.

At the end of every session, together we will observe a brief meditative exercise, even if you can only sustain 5-10 mins at a time. Even five or ten minutes of meditation can bring vast and life-altering long-term benefits.

The meditation itself is a variant of traditional Buddhist meditation, focusing on Vipassana insight oriented practice, and also an emphasis on Metta Meditation.

Skype

Skype is also available, if you happen to be out of town as a current client, but would like to have a session. If you live out of the Los Angeles area and are interested in Mindful Therapeutics, sessions will be available by Skype.

*The surfing and walking could not be part of your active plan if you were a Skype only client.